overriding the low-light switch on a “lidl” solar outdoor lamp

I bought a solar lamp at “LIDL” a few days ago. at €9.99 this was a steal. it even includes a pir movement sensor. (see the LIVARNO LUX LED-Solarstrahler)

sadly, the lamp had an integrated low-light switch: the pir mode would only be active when the light shining on the solar panel was low (night). however, I planned to use the light in a fairly dim environment (carport extension). at the same time I wanted to keep the panel outside (sun!). this wold switch the light on at night only (and not in the late afternoon, when I’d need it inside because there may be enough light shining on the panel, outside.

so I opened the enclosure and looked for a way to remove the low-light sensor circuit. spoiler: you can do this by removing one resistor!

the livarno is a beast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

after opening the case, unscrew the circuit board. on the back side you will have to remove resistor R2 as shown in the pix (blue circle):

 

as you can see, I kinda “parked” the resistor in case I may want to restore the low-light function at a later point in time.

et voilá: solar powered battery led light with a movement sensor and working just the way you’d expect it to.

6 thoughts on “overriding the low-light switch on a “lidl” solar outdoor lamp

  1. Thanks for sharing this! I’ve had a few of these lights for some time now, and they are starting to be quite dim, probably due to the batteries getting old, which is understandable. Therefore I’m thinking of changing them. I see in the first photo you posted that there are 18650 cells inside, and I see 3 of them there, but I was wondering if you could confirm that there are indeed 3 and not more that are hiding off the frame. It would be really helpful since I would be able to order the right amount of batteries. Thanks in advance!!

      • Great info!! Thanks a lot for the response!! Then i’ll presume they are just normal rechargable AAs at 1.2v Nominal? Are they soldered in there, or do they just pop out?

  2. Hi, great info. I have the opposite problem. My low light circuit stopped working altogether. Now my light switches on even on motion detection during daylight. Eventually this drains the battery. Anyone got the same problem? Could it be related to the R2 resistor you mention?
    Cheers.

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